New Light

“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” Heb.10:22 [NIV]

To grow spiritually, the second thing is I Must Be Resolved To Grow. Make the decision and accept the responsibility that comes with spiritual growth. How close are you to God now? You are as close as you want to be. Have you seen people way closer to God and you wish you could be like them? Guess what? You can be even closer to God and spiritually greater. But you are where you are because you have chosen to be. How do I know? The Word of God says, draw near to God and He will draw near to you. When you read that scripture in isolation, you may think you are the one taking the first step. The truth is that God has already taken the first step, Jesus died for you. Now the ball is  in your court. Focus on this in new light; God is waiting for you.

“Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock.  This seed began to grow, but soon it withered and died for lack of moisture” Luke 8:6 [LB, emphasis added]. Jesus explained this parable to mean, “Some people are like the seeds on rocky soil.  They welcome the word with joy, whenever they hear it, but they don’t develop any roots.  They believe for a while, but when their faith is tested, they abandon it.”  Luke 8:13 [GWT, emphasis added]. Shallow soil simply means a superficial commitment. The people in this category are thrilled but they are not transformed. They hear the Word and get excited about it, they get excited about things in church but it does not transform them. They have a form of godliness but they deny the power thereof.

Sometimes, we react superficially, we react emotionally, and even impulsively, but we need to take the time to let things sink in. This is why it is so important to listen to messages over and over again. There are things that will excite you when you hear it the first time, but when you listen to it again you will discover that there is so much you did not even catch the first time you heard the message. My point is, these words are useless if you are not going to do them and they will not benefit you.

Imagine you tell your child to wash the car and by the time you come  outside, the car has not been washed. When you ask why, he or she would say the way you said it was powerful, I have never heard it like that before. That instruction was strong and it brought tears to my eyes. Yet the car remains unwashed. Do the things you have been taught, simple!

Prayer: Father, I commit to not only hearing Your Word but to doing the Word, so that it will bear fruit in my life and not stand against me in judgment, in Jesus Name.